Teacher Thoughts: Summer Vacation

I know that based on the title of this post you might be thinking a few things about teachers and our summer vacation:

1) Teachers are SO lucky to get their entire summer off!
2) That [insert mean word of choice]!  It's not fair that she has a whole summer off.
3) I'm so jealous.  I wish I could have a summer off.
4) Teachers don't deserve to have all of that time off.

Maybe you aren't thinking any of those.  But still, we teachers often take a lot of flak for the blessing that we call June, July, and August.

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Maybe I can help to clear up some misconceptions about teachers and summer vacation.  (Or at least, what summer vacation is like for me.)

On summer vacation, I...

...get to sleep in more often.  I am not a morning person.  Getting up at 6:00 A.M. (sometimes earlier) is NOT my idea of a good time.  Being able to sleep until at least 7 makes my life outlook much sunnier (literally AND figuratively).

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...do more manual labor.  I can actually keep up with the house work: laundry, dishes, cleaning, etc.  That I use my job as an excuse to avoid 9 months out of the year.  :-p  Also, we are working on our house (mostly outside right now to prep for new siding) so I am often up early (see above) helping Scott outside.  I also am often responsible for mowing the lawn since Scott is usually busy working.  Having to cut the grass makes me feel irrationally irritated because I absolutely HATE it.


...recuperate from the school year.  No, teaching is not a physically demanding job.  But if you aren't a teacher (or if you don't work in the school system in some capacity), you may not fully understand the demands placed upon teachers today.  (You may want to look back at my past posts about teaching.)  But between lesson planning and actual teaching, there are many other things I am responsible for during the school day/year.  Not to mention that teaching takes an emotional toll on you.  When you care about your students, you worry about them.  It comes with the territory.

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...obsess about the coming school year.  I love, love, love getting ready for the upcoming school year.  I love getting my classroom ready, buying school supplies, and making plans for how I'm going to approach teaching during the coming year.  I am always trying to better myself and to make things work better for my students.  I want to do my best to help them learn the most during the school year.  That takes time and planning.  Ideas pop into my head at random times, and it often leads me to have back to school nightmares.  Lately, though, my school nightmares have all been featuring people and students that I encountered during the school year that just ended, so I'm not having the "new year" nightmares yet.

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...have more time to spend with my husband, family, and friends.  It's so nice to have more freedom (aka time) to make plans to do things with people I care about.  I don't feel like hiding in my house avoiding the world because I'm so exhausted.

...complete projects that I've been putting off until now.  I always have crafting ideas or things I want to organize, donate, sell, etc.  Summer time gives me the time to do all of this!  I just listed about 20 books/textbooks on Amazon recently.  It's so nice to have the time to package them and drop them off at the post office THE DAY that someone buys them, rather than having to wait until I have time.

...can read more!!  I try to devour as many books during June, July, and August as I can because it's so much harder to find time to read during the school year.

...RELAX.  I'm not one of those people who struggles with relaxing and doing nothing....even during the school year.  But summer break gives me time to get things done AND relax without feeling guilty about it.

So yes, summer break is a definite perk of being a teacher.  Many people criticize us for this, but keep in mind that many teachers DO work other jobs during the summer simply because they couldn't make ends meet without doing so.  Some teachers get the joy of spending their time off with their kids!  I truly couldn't "do" teaching year-round.  I love it, but it's stressful and exhausting at times.  Summer is my time to rest, rejuvenate, and become refreshed for the school year ahead.

Teachers, what do YOU do on your summer vacation?

Non-teachers, what would YOU do if you had the whole summer off?

Life Without a Purpose

Ok...that title is a little dramatic sounding.

First of all, don't worry, everything's fine here in my world.  I've just been thinking and feeling this lately, and I'd like to tell you a little bit about what it's really like for this teacher during the summer.

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Now, before I get some backlash about how lucky I am to have my summers off, or how teachers don't deserve summers off, let me clarify that I am NOT complaining.  This is just the type of conflict I go through every year.

For starters, I spend January on counting down the days until summer vacation.  Sure, there's a lot of work left to do and a lot left to teach, but January-March (and often April) in Pennsylvania is COLD.  It's after the Christmas high that I realize I need warmth and sunshine to function as a normal human being again.  Once it does warm up in May, that's it.  No one (teachers or students) wants to be in school any more.  Then summer comes, and as the above ecard states, I have no idea what day it is.

Apparently, it's Friday.  And as I'm writing this it's 9:40 PM.  Now, during the school year, I like to stay up late on Fridays, but often, I'm falling asleep on the couch at this time.

I'm. Wide. Awake.

And I'm hungry.

Again.

I digress.

Allow me to share with you the pros and cons of summer vacation for me:

Pros:
1. I can obviously take a nice long vacation, as you have spent the last couple of weeks reading.
2. I can go to bed when I want.
3. I can wake up when I want.
4. My house is clean....ish.
5. Laundry is always done.
6. I have time to blog.
7. I get to read!!!
8. I actually like going to the gym (probably because there's nothing else to do).
9. I can do what I want when I want.
10. Lots of time to work and prepare for the upcoming school year!

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Cons:
1. I actually do not function well without a schedule.  Do I hate getting up at 5:45 AM?  YES!  If school started at noon, I would be in much better shape.  :-p  My point is that without something that I have to do, I find myself all over the place.
2. I'm tired all day, but wide awake at night.
3. I have no idea what day (or date) it is 85% of the time.
4.

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5. By the time I wake up and get moving, the day is almost done.  
Scott's swing shift work schedule doesn't help me at all.  I find myself operating closer to his schedule, which totally messes up my sleeping patterns, too.  For example, he slept almost all day one time last week.  He had to go to work the next MORNING.  We went to the gym at almost midnight because he couldn't go back to sleep, and I was wide awake.
I will never complain about my summers off.  I LOVE it.  I just wish I could find a way to force myself into a routine!
Any fellow teachers (or stay at home wives) have suggestions?? 

Summer Vacation: Mississippi

So after our adventures in Nashville, we headed to our ultimate destination, Biloxi, Mississippi, to visit Scott's high school friend and his family.

On our first night, they arranged for us to stay at the Golden Nugget Casino.  For the remainder of our trip, we stayed in their home.  We actually did very well at the casino, and thanks to video poker, we won enough money that this leg of our trip was completely free!

On our second night, David and his wife, Lisa, welcomed us by having a BBQ with their friends.  We had a great time, and I really only got one candid shot from the whole night.  BUT they did have a karaoke system set up in their house...so naturally, I had to "do my thing," as Scott put it.

Excuse the photo quality from Scott's phone.  Also, I happy faced the people in the background because I don't know them well enough to feel comfortable posting them to my blog! :)

As it turns out, we were not far from New Orleans, so the next night, David, Lisa, Scott, and I took a trip over to Louisiana to experience Bourbon Street.  It was definitely....something else.  lol  I probably would have had a better time if I wasn't feeling like death warmed over, but all in all, I'm glad that I can say that I've been there.

We didn't end up having any authentic New Orleans food.  We stopped in at a Sports Bar called Walk-Ons to get something to drink and use the restroom.  We decided to stay.  (Smiley face guy is some random dude at the bar...)

We have arrived!

Naturally, we found a karaoke bar so that I could sing.  We waited FOREVER, but eventually, I got to rock the place with "Last Name" by Carrie Underwood.

Scott & I with our friends David and Lisa on the balcony of the karaoke bar Cat's Meow

On our last day of vacation, David and Lisa took Scott and I (and their daughters) to a beach on the gulf near Mobile, Alabama.  On the way, we stopped to eat at this awesome restaurant called Lamberts.  The food was delicious, and included with your meal you get the "pass-alongs".  Basically, servers come around with pots full of different sides.  I had the potatoes and onions = AMAZING!  They'd also come out with hot rolls, but they don't just hand those to you.  If you want one, they throw it to you.  Don't worry if you drop it, though, they'll throw you another one!  There's butter at your table, but they also come around with warm apple butter = AMAZING again!

Eating at Lambert's Cafe

Scott and I in the Gulf of Mexico!

We had such an amazing vacation!  From Ocean City to Nashville, to Mississippi, and all the wonderful things we did while we were there, I could not have asked for a better time!

Thanks for sticking with me for my vacation recaps! :)

Summer Vacation: Nashville Part 5

In case you missed any of my other posts about our vacation to Nashville, you can read about our experience on the historic Studio B Tour, visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Broadway & Karaoke, and the Nashville Ghost Tour.

For the last part of our Nashville vacation, I want to tell you all about visiting the Grand Ole Opry!

Visiting the Grand Ole Opry was a spur of the moment decision....actually...most of the things we did on our trip were.  The only thing we planned for sure in advance was visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame and taking the Studio B tour.  Anyway, it turned out that while we were there, Aaron Tippin and Scotty McCreery were performing.  Scott was a fan of Aaron Tippin in the 90s, and I was rooting for Scotty McCreery in his season of American Idol.  (In fact, that might have been the last season of American Idol I watched...)

There were 8 performers that night, and each artists sang three songs.  I made sure to get a picture of each one for the scrap book I'm going to make of our vacation.  I do have the names of each of them somewhere, but I'll be honest, I really don't feel like looking them up right now!  haha :)  

Aaron Tippin

Scotty McCreery

One of the other things we did in Nashville (that wasn't enough for one post) was visit the American Pickers store, Antique Archaeology.  In case you don't know, American Pickers is a TV show on the History Channel.  They travel around the country basically looking for all kinds of cool junk (aka antiques).  It was pretty interesting to browse a shop that we've seen on TV! 

That wraps up our trip to Nashville!  Have you ever been to Nashville?  What did you do there?  If you haven't been to Nashville, what would you LIKE to do?? 

Summer Vacation: Nashville Part 4

While we were in Nashville, we picked up some brochures about various tours and activities to do.  There were a few different types of Ghost Tours that we could take, and we chose the Haunted Tavern Tour that took us to various pubs and bars near Broadway.

We were encouraged to bring cameras and to take lots of pictures in the hopes that you might capture a ghost or at least some orbs.

We began at a place called Past Perfect.  Our tour guide told us some of the history of the building and Nashville, and he mentioned the ghosts that have been spotted there.

A girl named Maria has been spotted in this mirror

Maria is also said to play on the steps.

There are also gentlemen in top hats that sit at this table playing cards.

Then we went to BB King's Blues Club.  We ended up going down to the basement area where there have been ghost sightings.

The name of the last bar is escaping me, but our tour guide told us a pretty eerie personal experience he had.

He was giving a tour, and two women came out of the restroom and told him he needed to go in.  He went in and saw an apparition in the mirror.  Needless to say, he freaked out and abruptly exited the restroom.  The women confirmed that they saw the same thing.

So I went into the bathroom, turned out the lights, and tried to capture the man in the mirror.  Unfortunately, there's only me.  Then I freaked myself out, and bolted out of the room!  Haha

It was definitely a fun experience, and we got to learn a lot about the history of Nashville.  Our tour guide also played trivia between stories.  The winning team won a set of shot glasses.  We were not the winners.  We kinda sucked at trivia. haha

I would definitely recommend a ghost tour if you ever visit Nashville! :)

Summer Vacation: Nashville Part 3

Clearly, you all know by now that I got the chance to visit Nashville.  My first experience in Nashville on the historical Studio B tour.  Then I got to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.  Today, let's talk Broadway!

Yes, Nashville has a street called Broadway, too.  We spent a good bit of our time there stopping in different places for food and drinks, to buy souvenirs, to hear live entertainment, and, of course, for me to sing karaoke!

Our first stop on Broadway was a place called Tootsie's (the purple building).  There were three different floors, and because it was quite early in the afternoon, it was pretty much deserted.  Empty or not, it was still a pretty cool place, so we had a drink and listed to a little live music.

  Then we had a super yummy lunch at Rippy's BBQ.  Scott and I chose to eat up on the second floor.  We ordered their sampler, which is supposed to be an appetizer.  I'm pretty sure, though, that if you made the mistake of ordering anything else to eat on top of that, you'd be taking A LOT of food home.  The sampler had ribs, wings, onion rings, pork chops, and sausage.  It was a feast, and I can promise you that neither of us left there feeling hungry!  There was also live music.

Later that evening, we went to one of the karaoke bars on Broadway.  The windows behind the stage are open to the street.  Every now and then a passerby would poke a head in to listen.  This picture is me singing "Good Girl" by Carrie Underwood.  Unfortunately, not long after I sang, I wasn't feeling very well.  So we called it a night, but we did head back out the next day.

This band was playing at a place called The Stage.  I wish I could remember the name of this band because this girl was AMAZING.  I could've stayed to listen to her all day, but we had to go put more money in our parking meter.  Haha.  We also had to head out for our ghost tour, which I will tell you more about tomorrow!

After the ghost tour, we hit up another karaoke bar on Broadway.  I really enjoyed this one.  It was on the second floor of a building, and they had a camera that projected performances to a TV down on the street level.

This place was also deserted when we got there.  I probably sang 4 or 5 songs before anyone else even showed up!  After things got busy, I still got to sing a lot.  So I was pretty much in heaven.  :)  In this picture, I'm singing "Before He Cheats" by Carrie Underwood.

I hope you are enjoying my vacation posts!  Coming up: Ghost Tour, Grand Ole Opry, Mississippi, New Orleans.

Summer Vacation: Nashville Part 2

On Friday, I shared about my experience on the tour of historic Studio B in Nashville, TN.  I loved Nashville so much that I decided not to overwhelm everyone with a super lengthy post about it.  In this segment of my summer vacation posts, I share a little bit about the Country Music Hall of Fame and museum.

The museum featured displays (some more elaborate than others) giving a bit of information about Hall of Fame artists.  There were artists from the early days of country music to current artists like Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan.

I took a picture of the Hank Williams display because my pappy always loved his music.

Elvis' limo (and that's his gold piano in the back right)

The Man in Black (aka Johnny Cash)

Special Miranda Lambert exhibit

CARRIE!!

Kenny Rogers

As I said, most of the museum was small displays, and featured exhibits.  They also had a really cool area where you could record yourself singing to a few song choices.  You could also design your own album cover, and "mix" songs like producers.  It was probably targeted for kids, but we sure had fun.  As you can see in the above picture, there was a giant guitar.  There was a short set of stairs to get inside of it, and a slide on the other side.  As tempting as it was, I didn't use the slide.  I acted like a grown-up and used the stairs to exit.

The only disappointing part of the Country Music Hall of Fame was the audio tour.  In my previous experience with other audio tours, the audio component provides more information about the displays.  This one really didn't offer much information that we couldn't figure out or didn't already know from the display or our own personal knowledge.

Overall, this was an AMAZING place to visit, and if you're ever in the Nashville area, you should definitely visit!

Stay tuned for our experience on Broadway in Nashville!